Hungarian Beef Goulash (Kinda)

Hi all!

You may have noticed that little box up there in the corner. Or maybe you didn't in which case please ignore the following couple of sentences, they weren't that good anyway.

End communication.

I'm nearing the end of the NaNoWRiMo word count, not that it means much as I still have perhaps double that to go in spinning the yarn I'm trying to weave into a comfy wool sweater for rest of metaphor not found.

This means that my brain shall have to remain bubbling at half burner for at least another month or so and because of that my dinner plans have gotten a bit more "Oh god just let me throw something into something else for a few hours so I can spend unquality time with my laptop."

Enter the Hungarian Beef Goulash - I snagged the recipe from Roots & Zest.

It calls for stew meat which isn't to be used in stew - a welcoming proposition as I hate stew. Make up your damn mind, are you going to be a soup or a chowder? You can't be both! Oh and I love paprika, it's a downright sickness at this point.

Don't mind the two kinds of pasta, that happens a lot in this house. Its like a sampler platter.

Ingredients - I cut it all in half for the two of us and because I only had 1 pound of stew meat. Oh and the green alien on my shoulder told me to.

• 2 pounds beef stew meat, (such as chuck), trimmed and cubed
• 2 teaspoons caraway seeds
• 1 1/2-2 tablespoons sweet or hot paprika,
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 large or 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 small red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 14-ounce can reduced-sodium beef broth
• 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons water
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Obviously I left out the peppers - blech, and I added some vindaloo for a little spicy kick.Oh and the caraway seeds were one of those things we thought we had but never materialized. I shouldn't have put my spice rack so close to a black hole.

Preparation

1. Place beef in a 4-quart or larger slow cooker. Crush caraway seeds with the bottom of a saucepan. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in paprika, salt and pepper. Sprinkle the beef with the spice mixture and toss to coat well. Top with onion and bell pepper.
2. Combine tomatoes, broth, Worcestershire sauce and garlic in a medium saucepan; bring to a simmer. Pour over the beef and vegetables. Place bay leaves on top. Cover and cook until the beef is very tender, 4 to 4 1/2 hours on high or 7 to 7 1/2 hours on low.
3. Discard the bay leaves; skim or blot any visible fat from the surface of the stew. Add the cornstarch mixture to the stew and cook on high, stirring 2 or 3 times, until slightly thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve sprinkled with parsley.

The cornstarch mixture didn't really thicken it well but luckily the pasta sucked up tasty juices. It was a nice warm ooey gooey tomatoey meal for crisp days that was gobbled up without any leftover. Next time I might try to make the full recipe because it'll be a good I have another 2,000 words to get out pick something from the fridge dinner.

PAPRIKA FOOTBALL RULES!